11 Science Podcasts By Women That’ll Blow Your Mind

Science is amazing in all its forms — and if you don't have enough time to grab the latest issue of Nature, there are still many ways to keep up to date on the weird and wonderful new discoveries coming out of STEM all over the world. Enter podcasts. Perfect for a commute, an afternoon in, or a sneaky/productive listen while we're supposed to be doing other things, podcasts open up a whole new world. They've been particularly great as a platform for women, who are often a minority in scientific industries, to talk about the science they love. Whether your tastes run to the creepy, the intricate, the broad or just whatever's new, there's a science podcast out there to make you appreciate the wonders of science and the natural world.

The best podcasts blend a particular "take" on their corner of their subject with an evolving, fresh array of guests and ideas. From the science of appearance to death, the history of women in STEM to interviews with the scientists shaping the future right now, these podcasts take on strange and complicated subjects with humor and properly cited studied. And a majority of them feature women kicking ass behind the microphone. Get your earbuds and prepare to be amazed.

1Appearance Matters

This British series comes from the University of Bristol Center for Appearance Research, and is hosted and created by two researchers, Nadia Craddock and Jade Parnell, who discuss all aspects of image research, from body image and acne to feminism and breast cancer.

2Lady Science

The Lady Science podcast is connected toLady Science magazine, which is edited by female researchers in the United States, and their episodes call on experts to go deep into the scientific history of gender, including how transgender and queer people have been treated by science over the centuries.

3This Podcast Will Kill You

Run by Erin Welsh and Erin Allman Updyke, both graduates in disease ecology, this is not a podcast for the squeamish; it investigates all aspects of infectious disease, from Ebola to HIV.

4Beyond The Microscope

Beyond The Microscope has a simple mission: talk to women who work in STEM about their jobs and research. The results are inspiring and deeply cool — and there's something for everybody in the archives.

5Super Women In Science

If your taste in podcasts runs to finding out how things work, Super Women In Science is a good one for you: every episode features interviews with women doing science in the community, from starting businesses to doing kick-ass research. Many focus on one particular female scientist who sets out exactly how she's going to change the world.

6Ologies

Created by science correspondent Alie Ward, Ologies involves Ward interviewing radical names in every -ology she likes, including archaeology and biology, and making you laugh so hard you might cry.

7Talk Nerdy

If you don't already know Cara Santa Maria, you should. Her podcast Talk Nerdy is one of the most established scientific podcasts on the scene, with good reason: she interviews some of the most dynamic scientists and thinkers on the planet about what they're passionate about.

8Science For The People

This Canadian-founded podcast has three hosts who work as science writers and web developers by day and seek out awesome stories by night. They curate episodes on things like Frankenstein, the Flint crisis and the links between math and yarn, with heavy-hitting guests.

9The Naked Scientist

This collection of Cambridge scientists want to know what makes things work, and they ask every question under the sun — why is Blu-Tak sticky, how do magnetic fields work, what is IVF — and find the answers in as irreverent a way as possible.

10Every Little Thing

Hosted by Flora Lichtman, Every Little Thing will answer all your questions about tiny bits of science, like "Is the Dewey Decimal System actually mind control?" (yes, seriously). And you can write in with your own questions to have them answered on-air.

11Sawbones

Those with a taste for the macabre will love Sawbones, hosted by husband and wife Justin and Dr. Sydnee McElroy, which plunges elbows deep into medical history to investigate the many bizarre ways in which we've got it, well, very wrong over the centuries.

No matter what your taste in science, there's something to keep you intrigued and on the edge of your seat on the train to work. Just try to resist telling the person next to you all about what you just learned about deadly worms.